The Women in Alice Walker's Short Story Everyday Use

One Family, Three Very Different Women: Mama, Dee and Maggie

By Nicole Mohr, published May 05, 2006
Published Content: 148  Total Views: 413,849  Favorited By: 18 CPs
Rating: 3.0 of 5
Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” reminds me a lot of my family. No, I am not African-American, and I did not grow up in the rural South, but the characters of Mama, Dee, and Maggie remind me of my mom, me, and my sister. The three of us look alike, share some DNA, and have spent most of our lives in Simi Valley, but other than that, we have nothing in common. Mama, Dee, and Maggie are really the same way. While it would be expected for three closely related women to have much in common, Mama, Dee, and Maggie each have a very different life story, perspective on life, and concept of history. 

Although the three women are a nuclear family, their DNA may be all the three women have in common. Their life stories are very diverse. Mama grew up in a world where colored people were treated much differently than Maggie and Dee have experienced. When Mama was growing up, she had few civil liberties as a colored person. She mentions that “after second grade, the school was closed down,” (745) and because of this she is not educated and cannot read. Mama can do rough work, such as “kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man,“ with her “rough, man-working hands” (744). She is a very spiritual woman; she mentions that she sings church songs, and describes one of her actions in comparison to how she might act in church when the “spirit of God touches [her]” (749). Mama has a deep, rich personality, and although she has not lived an easy life, the rough life she has lived has turned her into a strong woman. 

Takeaways
  • "Everyday Use," focuses greatly on different concepts of what history is.
  • The character Maggie has accepted the country life, but has had a more difficult youth than Dee.
  • Mama finds history in her memories of people and places, unlike Dee who finds history in materials.
Comments
Showing Comments 1 - 10 of 10
 
 
This short story is dull, and interpereting it requires little to no critical thinking skills. It is sad that so many mediocre short stories such as this one are made up to be so grandious and gain underserved attention, solely because a minority writer actually put out something decent at a racially opressed time. This is shit, if you Lit buffs want to talk about "great works by minorities" then pull out some Booker T.or DuBois, not some cop out blah blah blog like "The Lesson". Enough. Goodbye. -An ignorant and bitter person

Posted on 03/28/2008 at 12:03:26 AM

 
thank you you are so wonderful

Posted on 03/09/2008 at 8:03:21 AM

 
main characters

Posted on 12/09/2007 at 7:12:02 PM

 
jajajaja rovenzzzz gay =]

Posted on 11/02/2007 at 9:11:00 AM

 
i love crystal

Posted on 11/02/2007 at 9:11:00 AM

 
Dis is 1 of ma fav. Alice W. pieces!!

Posted on 11/02/2007 at 9:11:00 AM

 
i love the Alice Walker pieces they are amazing

Posted on 10/06/2007 at 4:10:00 PM

 
i like this stroy i think that this story has a good meaning.

Posted on 07/10/2007 at 7:07:00 PM

 
i agree that they are completely different women and that situation reminds me of my mother and two sisters. we are fairly the same age but we all look at things differently basing them on our different experiences in life!

Posted on 02/12/2007 at 2:02:00 PM

 
One of my favorite Alice Walker pieces! The memory of reading Everyday Use has stayed with me since my sophomore year of college.

Posted on 05/06/2006 at 9:05:00 PM

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